reenlivening

Season of Re-Enlivening, by Randall D. Kittle

Every spring I am amazed at how quickly life springs forth out of what has appeared as dead and lifeless. Even the last remnants of snow can’t stop the daffodils and tulips from pushing their way up through the frozen ground and bringing forth their flowers. Spring is a time filled with beautiful and fragrant blossoms bursting forth. Even the grass goes from a dull brown to a vibrant green.

But the most amazing part of spring to me is the enlivening of the dormant trees. Right now you can still see the house that sits on the other side of the woods behind our home. The only thing diminishing the view is a field of thin sticks that have stood there barren and lifeless all winter. But in the matter of a few short weeks they will be transformed from lifeless sticks into a lush and vibrant forest with leaves unfolding and blossoms blooming. How quickly the house behind us will vanish as vitality returns to the woods that have stood dormant all the long, cold winter.

God has ordained spring to restore what has been lost and to release new growth. What a picture this is of the new life Jesus Christ has died to give to each of us. The transformation from winter to spring is simply amazing, but it pales in comparison to the change and renovation God works in our lives. God takes the sinner and makes them a saint. He takes the lost and lonely and places them into a family of faith. God takes those far from Him and makes them His friends and His family. He takes the weak and makes them strong, and for their sorrow He gives them joy. God brings freedom to the captives and releases the oppressed. He remakes our lives, renews our minds, and refines our hearts. There is nothing that can compare to the results of the resurrection power of God transforming our lives!

The good news for you and I is that spring is not a one time offering, but an ever-returning opportunity … and so it is for God’s refreshing and renewing resurrection power. No matter what part of your spiritual walk may have gone dormant, no matter how things may seem lifeless, God is always both able and willing to bring the enlivening of a fresh beginning and the blossoming of new life to our dormant hearts.

The Bible says that God is a “vinedresser” or “gardener” (John 15:1). The Greek word translated here literally means “one who brings life from the soil.” He who formed us from the ground of the earth and breathed life into us is also the One who died and rose again so that He could enliven us once again. He longs to put His new life into the earthen vessels of our lives not only so that they contain life, but so that He can bring life out of “the soil” of our lives to a lifeless world. We must seek the Lord and yield to Him so that He will impart His renewing, resurrection life into gardens of our hearts, and then allow Him to draw out from us the fruit of this life to bless and beckon others!